New Delhi, Oct 5 — The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of a seven-year-old girl after she was administered an anti-malaria tablet in Andhra Pradesh and has asked the Andhra Pradesh High Court to closely monitor the investigation.
Madivi Jamuna died in Polavaram district last month after she was given a chloroquine tablet.
The court was told that an FIR had been registered and that investigators were awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory report.
The Supreme Court’s direction places the investigation under close judicial scrutiny as authorities work to establish what caused Jamuna’s death and the illness reported among other villagers.
The FSL report is expected to be an important part of the investigation. It may help establish whether the medicine or its batch was linked to the reported illnesses. The court also asked the High Court to keep a close watch on the inquiry as it proceeds.
The incident occurred in Gollaguppa village in Yetapaka mandal, Polavaram district, during an anti-malaria drive on September 1.
Reports said chloroquine tablets were distributed after malaria cases were detected in the area.
Jamuna, a Class 2student, became unwell after taking a tablet and later died. Dozens of other villagers, most of them children, were also taken for medical care.
Personnel from the Lakshmipuram Primary Health Centre administered chloroquine tablets to 71 people as a preventive measure following reports of malaria cases in the village. At least five malaria cases had been reported from the village located near the Andhra-Telangana border.
Jamuna, a seven-year-old Koya tribal girl,died hours after she was administered a chloroquine tablet, while 52 villagers, mostly children, were admitted to hospitals.
As many as 28 villagers, mostly children, have been shifted to the government hospital in Bhadrachalam in Telangana. All of them recovered and were discharged the next day.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had ordered a probe into the incident.